Yoga and Body Image

Fans have a new reason to preach what they practice: A recent study found that women who do yoga are more pleased with their bodies than women who do aerobics. As reported in Psychology of Women Quarterly, researchers surveyed women who had been doing one or the other exercise regularly for six years, as well as women who hadn't participated in either. Overall, women who did aerobics had the greatest dissatisfaction with their bodies and the highest risk for disordered eating; women who practiced yoga were lowest on both counts. "Aerobics cultivates a sense of wanting to perfect the body, which can lead to dissatisfaction," says study author Jennifer Daubenmier of the University of California in San Francisco. "Yoga cultivates acceptance of an individual's strengths and limitations." Daubenmier also believes that yoga may be an effective treatment for women with eating disorders.